Dartmouth
by chattgirl4
Summary: Starts on pg 101 of BD - but Bella doesn't get pregnant on Isle Esme. Yes, it's been done a lot, but this isn't like the others. This is an insert between the honeymoon and Bella getting pregnant. And with none of that 'fade to back' stuff! no offense SM!
1. Dartmouth

**Chapter 1: Dartmouth**

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_A/N: No copyright infringement intended – characters belong solely to Stephenie Meyer. (I'm just playing with them.)_

_**ATTENTION READERS**! I've done a major (in my opinion) overhaul of this story (i.e. changing, adding, and out-right cutting parts). I've merged some chapters to make them a more reasonable length (no more 700-word chapters - YAY), and hopefully gotten rid of some of those annoying cliff-hangers... I hope you like what I've done with it! Fingers crossed, I'll be able to actually UPDATE with COMPLETELY NEW STUFF, but in the meantime, I'd love to hear your thoughts, both old and new!_

_Happy reading!_

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Chapter 1…

(Starts on page 100 of Breaking Dawn - **bolded** sections indicate direct quotation)

**About a week or so after we'd gotten to the island, I decided to try compromise. It had worked for us in the past.**

**I was sleeping in the blue room now. The cleaning crew wasn't due until the next day, and so the white room still had a snowy blanket of down. The blue room was smaller, the bed more reasonably proportioned. The walls were dark, paneled in teak, and the fittings were all luxurious blue silk.**

**I'd taken to wearing some of Alice's lingerie collection to sleep in at might – which weren't so revealing compared to the scanty bikinis she'd packed for me when it came right down to it. I wondered if she'd had a vision of why I would want such things, and then shuddered, embarrassed by that thought.**

**I'd started out slow with innocent ivory satins, worried that revealing more of my skin would be the opposite of helpful, but ready to try anything. Edward seemed to notice nothing, as if I were wearing the same ratty old sweats I wore at home.**

**The bruises were much better now – yellowing in some places and disappearing altogether in others – so tonight I pulled out one of the scarier pieces as I got ready in the paneled bathroom. It was black, lacy, and embarrassing to look at even when it wasn't on. I was careful not to look in the mirror before I went back to the bedroom. I didn't want to lose my nerve.**

**I had the satisfaction of watching his eyes pop open wide for just a second before he controlled his expression.**

"**What do you think?" I asked, pirouetting so that he could see every angle.**

**He cleared his throat. "You look beautiful. You always do."**

"**Thanks," I said a bit sourly.**

**I was too tired to resist climbing quickly into the soft bed. He put his arms around me and pulled me against his chest, but this was routine – it was too hot to sleep without his cool body close.**

**"I'll make you a deal," I said sleepily.**

**"I will not make any deals with you," he answered.**

**"You haven't even heard what I'm offering."**

**"It doesn't matter."**

**I sighed. "Dang it. And I really wanted. . . Oh well."**

**He rolled his eyes.**

**I closed mine and let the bait sit there. I yawned.**

**It took only a minute – not long enough for me to zonk out.**

**"All right. What is it you want?"**

**I gritted my teeth for a second, fighting a smile. If there was one thing he couldn't resist, it was the opportunity to give me something.**

**"Well, I was thinking. . . I know that the whole Dartmouth thing was just supposed to be a cover story, but honestly, one semester of college probably wouldn't kill me," I said, echoing his words from long ago when he'd tried to persuade me to put off becoming a vampire. "Charlie would get a thrill out of Dartmouth stories, I bet. Sure, it might be embarrassing if I can't keep up with all the brainiacs. Still. . . eighteen, nineteen. It's not really such a big difference. It's not like I'm going to get crow's feet in the next year."**

**He was silent for a long moment. Then, in a low voice, he said, "You would wait. You would stay human."**

**I held my tongue, letting the offer sink in.**

**"Why are you**_**doing**_**this to me?" he said through his teeth, his tone suddenly angry. "Isn't it hard enough without all of this?" He grabbed a handful of lace that was ruffled on my thigh. For a moment, I though he was going to rip it from the seam. Then his hand relaxed. "It doesn't matter. I won't make any deals with you."**

**"I want to go to college."**

**"No, you don't. And there's nothing that is worth risking your life again. That's worth hurting you."**

**"But I**_**do**_**want to go. Well, it's not college as much as it's that I want – I want to be human a little wile longer."**

**He closed his eyes and exhaled though his nose. "You are making me insane, Bella. Haven't we had this argument a million times, you always begging to be a vampire without delay?"**

**"Yes, but . . . well, I have a reason to be human that I didn't have before."**

**"What's that?"**

**"Guess," I said, and I dragged myself off the pillows to kiss him.**

**He kissed me back, but not in a way that made me think I was winning. It was more like he was being careful not to hurt my feelings; he was completely, maddeningly in control of himself. Gently, he pulled me away after a moment and cradled me against his chest.**

**"You are**_**so**_**human, Bella. Ruled by your hormones." He chuckled.**

**"That's the whole point, Edward. I _like_ this part of being human. I don't want to give it up yet. I don't want to wait through years of being a blood-crazed newborn for some part of this to come back to me."**

**I yawned, and he smiled.**

**"You're tired. Sleep, love." He started humming the lullaby he'd composed for me when we'd first met.**

"So how long do you think we can stay here?" I asked, eyes closed.

**"We can stay as long as you want, Bella," he promised me.**

**"When does the semester start? I wasn't paying attention before."**

"We both know you don't really want to go to college, Bella."

"**It wasn't a pretense, Edward. I don't spend my free time plotting like some people do,** Mr. Let's-Tire-Bella-Out. I really want to go."

**He sighed. He may have started humming again, too, but I was under before I could be sure.**

Later I awoke in the dark, sighed – I had so wanted the dream to be real. Now I was left with a sense of longing even stronger than I'd had while dreaming. Of course, I had known it wasn't real, but at least in those moments I could pretend.

I groaned – even though it was only a dream, it had still aroused me, which left me with a throbbing ache and no way to relieve it. My eyes started to water, partly out of sadness, partly frustration, but mostly desperation. Here I was, on my honeymoon, and my husband was refusing to have an actual honeymoon with me – and even after I was changed, I would go through at least a year as a blood-crazed newborn before some part of this desire of mine would come back to me.

**"Bella?" Edward whispered, his arms tight around me, shaking me gently. "Are you alright, sweetheart?"**

I nodded, afraid that if I spoke he would hear tears in my voice. I couldn't handle being rejected, being pushed away again, not tonight. My tears slowly spilled over, and although I made no sound and fought to keep my breathing even, eventually they dropped onto his arm curled around me.

**"Bella!" he said – louder, alarmed now. "What's wrong?" He wiped the tears from my hot cheeks with cold, frantic fingers, but others followed.**

**"It was only a dream."** Speaking the words aloud, I could no longer contain my sobs.

**"It's okay, love, you're fine. I'm here." He rocked me back and forth, a little too fast to soothe. "Did you have a nightmare? It wasn't real, it wasn't real."**

His words broke my heart all over again – _it wasn't real_.

"Not a nightmare." I shook my head, scrubbing the back of my hand against my cheeks, my eyes. "It was a _good_ dream." My voice broke again.

"Then why are you crying?" he asked, bewildered.

**"Because I woke up," I wailed, wrapping my arms around his neck in a chokehold and sobbing into his throat.**

**He laughed once at my logic, but the sound was tense with concern.**

"I _so_ wanted it to be real," I whispered, trying to stop the tears.

**"Tell me about it," he urged. "Maybe that will help."**

**"We were on the beach. . ." I trailed off, pulling back to look with tear-filled eyes at his anxious angel's face, dim in the darkness.**

**"And?" he finally prompted.**

I blinked the last of the tears out of my eyes, torn. Finally I sighed and got out of the bed.

"Where are you going?" he asked, still worried and confused.

"To put some clothes on."

I opened the drawer that housed some shorts and then searched for a t-shirt. Of course, Alice had only packed some lace camisoles. I grabbed one of each at random and pulled them on, not even bothering to take off the lingerie first.

I silently got back into bed and closed my eyes, pretending not to feel Edward's eyes watching me from across the bed.

"Goodnight," I whispered, and eventually fell into an uneasy sleep.

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_A/N: Probably not where you'd expected this would go, but I have my reasons..._

~chattgirl4


	2. NEWS

**New Story Idea #1**

AH/AU. Rated M. Title = ?

**Summary:**  
Bella lives in Phoenix, AZ. Age = 17. High School – Senior Year. Bella goes to party with her friends, Jasper (NOT dating!) and Rosalie – and guess what: Edward's there.  
Edward lives in Forks, WA. Age = 18. High School – Senior Year. Edward goes down to Phoenix for a Basketball Nat'l HS Championship game – he's on the team… His team wins, and he goes to a party to celebrate – Bella's there.

*****ALL SUMMARY IDEAS ARE NOT SET IN STONE – LET ME KNOW WHICH PARTS YOU LIKE IF YOU WANT THEM TO STAY!*****

**New Story Idea #2**

AH/AU. Rated M. Title = 'Stranger on the Train' (maybe… Not set in stone.)

**Summary:**  
Bella and Edward live in Washington, DC. Bella works for (insert gov't agency here) – Edward works for (insert OTHER, but CONNECTED gov't agency here). They both ride to work on the (train in DC = ?). Edward sees Bella (and Bella sees Edward) every day, but they never speak to each other… One day they have an interaction at work (agencies working together/temporary partnership liaison type thing) and instantly feel a connection with one another. Soon after, they must go back to only seeing each other on the train, but here's the difference: now they talk. They begin a tentative friendship, and hang out in a local bar/hotspot, and one thing leads to another (you know how that goes…) and the next morning Edward wakes up in Bella's apt. They both have hangovers, and there's a strain on their friendship now, making things awkward on the train. Bella finds out she's pregnant and tells Edward; he pushes her away and accuses her of horrible things (i.e. PURPOSELY getting pregnant) because of a past experience. As time goes on (around 2 months), Edward slowly comes to regret how he acted but before he can apologize and ask to help out in any way he can, Bella gets transferred to NYC to work out of that branch of her agency. There she meets Jacob/Jake at work, and the two become close FRIENDS (NOT written for Team Jacob) – Jacob is gay (not that I think Taylor Lautner is gay). Edward gets himself transferred a few weeks (month?) later and tries to contact Bella – unsuccessfully. One day he sees Bella and Jake walking to work and gets the wrong idea. (That's all I've got for now…) Full of misinterpreted situations and with a huge twist at the end.

*****ALL SUMMARY IDEAS ARE NOT SET IN STONE – LET ME KNOW WHICH PARTS YOU LIKE IF YOU WANT THEM TO STAY!*****

Let me know! :D

~chattgirl4


	3. For Now

**Chapter 2: For Now**

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_A/N: I'm cutting out the vivid dreams/nightmares for now, because I feel that those were a symptom of the pregnancy, not of being on the island. Also, I've been reading a lot of M Rated stories to try to figure out the best way to write the honeymoon, so if there're similarities to another story, I'm sorry – totally accidental. I am in no way trying to steal someone else's writing genius. Again, there is no copyright infringement intended in the writing of this story. The characters and Twilight universe belong to Stephenie Meyer._

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Chapter 2…

I woke up the next morning with a sense of déjà vu – the sun shining on my back, Edward underneath me, running his hands along my spine. Only this time I was clothed, and there was no euphoric state of bliss – only the quiet despair of giving up, of giving in. When I sighed this time, it was for a different reason.

"Bella?" Edward asked. "Bella, love?" His voice sounded anxious.

"Hmmm?" I mumbled, still wallowing in my wretched feelings of misery.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" He asked, concern dripping from his voice.

"Yeah," I sighed. I rolled off his chest and onto the other side of the bed, landing face-up. I could feel his eyes on me, and was not able to hold back the memory of those same eyes looking at me in a different way – burning into me and setting my nerves ablaze. I shivered, and quickly came up with a plan to distract myself. "Let's go snorkeling," I suggested, making my tone excessively bright and up-beat.

Edward responded after a short pause, no doubt confused. "Alright. But let's get some food in you first." He got up and headed toward the kitchen at vampire speed. Within seconds I could faintly smell onions sautéing in butter.

I slowly got out of bed and trudged to the kitchen, trying pep myself into a more positive attitude – and I was failing miserably.

I ate the breakfast Edward prepared for me and went snorkeling like I'd suggested, all the while pasting on a huge, fake smile. Apparently it wasn't as convincing as I'd hoped.

"Bella, what's wrong?" Edward asked.

I glanced up at him, feeling another pang of some painful emotion I had yet to find a name for. "I'm fine."

"Why does that not sound convincing?"

It was a rhetorical question, but I answered anyway. "Trust me, Edward. Let it go."

He nodded, though I thought I heard him murmur, "For now."

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_A/N:_

**_ ****STORY RECOMMENDATION****_**

_'**Getting Warmer'** by is really good – I used it as inspiration for how to write this chapter. It's not complete, which usually means that I won't even look at it, but it's AMAZING and has some really brilliant and interesting ideas that I'd like to somehow incorporate in this story… Check it out! :D_

_If you're hungry for more story recs, **The Review** is up and running. All recommendations and reviews will be posted there from now on._

~chattgirl4


	4. Catching Flies

**Chapter 3: Catching Flies**

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_A/N: As you'll read in this chapter, Bella and Edward's 'perfect' relationship in which they can solve all problems and overcome all obstacles is quickly deteriorating… They had better fix it fast, right? (I love Edward and Bella just as much as the next person, so I'm not particularly fond of the way Bella's acts here… it's childish. But I still love her anyway.)_

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Chapter 3…

I spent the next few days coming up with ways to distract myself from the pointless sense of loss that I felt, with little avail. Finally, I'd had it. All of my ideas were useless anyway, as they did not fulfill their purpose.

"Edward," I groaned after breakfast, frustration clear in my voice. "It's your turn to come up with ideas – I'm stumped."

He looked at me from across the sofa, his eyes sweeping across my face in concern; he did that a lot now. "Why don't we watch a movie?" he asked, gesturing over to the massive collection of DVDs on the built-in bookcase ten feet away. **They had more DVDs than a rental store.**

Bad idea – just the thought of being in a semi-dark room laying across his chest while trying to concentrate a movie I already knew would not hold my inerest was prompting countless fantasies, all of which would end up with me aroused, frustrated, upset. "Ummm… no. Let's do something outside."

"…Alright," he said after a moment's hesitation. "Let's go swimming."

Edward in his board shorts… I sighed softly at the mental image. Ahhh! "Nope. Next."

"Hiking?""

That seemed innocent enough. "Perfect," I smiled.

"Ouch!" I complained again, wincing as I turned my ankle the wrong way.

"Bella, please stop moving your foot," Edward chastised me, exasperated.

"I'm not doing it on purpose," I shot back.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Yes, love, it's moving all by itself without the help of your brain. Please make an effort to hold still for just a moment."

"I am making an effort – but it hurts!" I whined.

"And I'm trying to make it stop, so hold still." He readjusted the position of my foot on the pillow and gently put an ice pack on top of it. The relief was, while not complete, instantaneous.

I sighed. I was being a brat. And I was stupid for twisting my ankle on that tiny rock. But mostly right now I was being a brat. "I'm sorry," I apologized.

"It's fine," Edward said, smiling softly at me. Then his smile widened. "Looks like we'll be watching a movie today after all. Popcorn?" he asked as he whizzed into the kitchen and held up a bag.

"… Sure," I gave in.

"What kind of movie do you want to watch?"

Well, romance was out. As was horror. Maybe comedy, or action. "Which sounds better? Comedy or action?" I asked, not wanting this to be a one-sided decision.

"Comedy," he answered, and suddenly he was by the bookcase, pulling out a DVD and tossing it to me. I barely caught it.

"You should know better than to throw stuff at me, Cullen."

"You caught it."

"_Barely_."

"I would have caught it if you didn't." True…

I tossed it back to Edward and he put it in, setting up the TV.

Just then the microwave beeped. Edward was back in seconds with my steaming popcorn in his hands.

He gently shifted me so that he was sitting with my legs across his lap, and he was holding the ice pack in place with one of his hands; the other was holding out the popcorn to me.

I took it from him and tossed a piece in the air to catch it with my mouth. When I actually did, I could hear Edward's mouth drop open.

"That's rude, you know," I said without looking at him. "And you'll catch… well, not a fly, maybe, but some other exotic insect in there."

Edward snorted. He _snorted_. But he did at least close his mouth. I turned and smirked at him.

Throughout the rest of the movie we existed in a constant stream of witty banter, most of which had nothing to do with the actual movie (which was, for the most part, forgotten). I was starting to think that I didn't need to try so hard to distract myself; we could just have fun and enjoy the other's company.

And then he leaned over and kissed me.

Memories flooded my mind – our first kiss, the way he'd kissed me when he thought he might lose me to James, the feeling of being crushed against him after he came back, our first night on Isle Esme. And last of all, the rejection I'd felt when he'd pushed me away. I couldn't go through that again, couldn't handle it now.

So I pushed him away – I pushed, he played along – and got off the couch. Only, I'd forgotten my sprained ankle, and instead of gracefully getting up and walking away like I'd planned, I ended up falling down in a way that was _anything_ but graceful. Luckily, my vampire husband with lightning-fast reflexes caught me.

And that's how I ended up in his arms, with his face a little too close to mine for comfort right now. Why was he making this so difficult?

Edward chuckled, sending a wave of his breath fanning across my face. I was dazzled, once again. "Bella," I distantly heard him say.

"Yes?" I asked, still quite dazed.

"Maybe you should stay on the couch, love," he laughed.

"Oh, so you think this is funny?" I asked, indignant.

Edward rolled his eyes and nodded while setting me back on the couch. Thankfully, this time he knelt across from me instead of sitting next to me.

"Bella," he sighed, looking intently into my eyes. I was helpless to look away. "Please try to be more careful."

I nodded, speechless from the emotion in his eyes. I would have thought I'd be used to that intensity by now, but apparently not.

"Thank you," he whispered. Then he started to lean forward just a bit. It was a minute change in position, but I noticed. And then I was torn – to kiss or not to kiss, that seemed to be the question.

And then, just like that, there was no more question, because he'd made the decision for me. His lips were on mine once again, and I found myself unable to resist anymore. I melted into his arms and flung mine around his neck, gluing myself to him.

He picked me up and set me back on the couch, this time laying me on it with him leaning over me.

Seeming almost hesitant, Edward slowly climbed onto the couch and pressed the length of his body against mine.

I shivered, though I was far from cold. Edward moved his arms to my waist, circled them around me, lifting me up to him. At this, I moaned, my resistance in shreds and of no use to me now, and the sound seemed to physically jolt Edward. He froze and then pulled slightly away, saying, "Bella, wait."

I looked at him reproachfully. "You just can't do that to people – it's hardly fair." I groaned.

He actually looked confused. "Do what?" he asked.

"Lead a girl on like that."

"…Bella," he said, his eyes suddenly mischievous. "The phrase "lead on" implies that I have no intention of delivering." As he spoke his voice got continuously rougher – like crushed velvet.

My eyes widened. "You do?" I was incredulous. This was completely unexpected.

He lowered his face so that his nose just skimmed the hollow of my neck. "Mmmhmm…" he breathed, planting an open-mouthed kiss on my collarbone. I moaned again softly.

"But…" he paused and pulled back. I groaned. "I have a few ground rules."

"…Ground rules?" I asked dubiously.

"Yes." Suddenly his face looked more severe. "And you _must_ follow them, or we can't go any further, alright?"

I nodded, cautiously letting hope bloom inside me.

"Promise me, Bella."

"I promise to follow your ground rules… What are they?"

His face looked infinitely more relaxed as I spoke those words, and it regained the playfulness it had before. "Hmmm…," he said. "Perhaps it would be better to show you…"

And then, with a devilish look in his eyes, he whisked us off to the blue room.


	5. UPDATE

**Update**

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Hey readers…

I know I haven't uploaded new chapters in what let's call "a very long time." Things have been hectic, but I'm hoping (tentatively) to be able to post something new in the vicinity of the [near] future ("near" being a relative term…). I HOPE to be able to work with other authors on the next chapter, as it will be my first 'lemon' and I'm waffling over how I want to approach it.

In the meantime, **The Review** is up and running, with (at this point) four 'chapters' – story recs to fill your time will be posted here. I update around once a week, but no promises, as it will depend entirely on my workload. (I don't consider this writing, because all I'm doing is saying 'here's a story' and 'this is what I like about it' and lastly, 'you should read it' …or in some cases it might end up being more like 'here's a story' and 'here's what I DON'T like about it' and 'don't read it,' although I'm hoping any negative reviews will be few and far in-between.)

If you have any thoughts on **Dartmouth** so far, I'd love to hear them – things you either like or don't like, things that could be written better (edits take a shorter amount of time than new chapters, so I'm actively editing – as is always the case), or things that you'd like to see in the story. While I can't promise all suggestions/etc will be applied to the story, I _can_ promise you that all will be seriously considered.

~chattgirl4


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